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Question: You said that it is necessary to invest a small amount of effort to feel my joy in another. What does “a small amount of effort” mean?

Answer: Describe to yourself a state like this, that you now find yourself with feelings and thoughts about another and want to see him joyful, happy, and fulfilled. And now think about what you could do to attain this. This will bring you to the possibility of acting in some way for the sake of a friend.

You need to learn what makes him happy, exactly what he needs, and in this way you combine his desire to yours, and his desire becomes yours. That is to say you have already acquired another part of your soul.[110728]From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 5

Question: In all three days of the convention we have said that only dissemination to 99% of humanity will truly help unite the group. Do we unite in order to go out to disseminate or do we go out to disseminate in order to unite?

Answer: This takes place reciprocally. If we are not involved with dissemination, then we will have no reason to unite and continue inner work in the group; it will all fade away. But when you begin to work with the others, you will begin to discuss all of this, “give birth” to this, and unify this among you. You must show them everything by your example, that is basically the students make the teacher.

On the other hand, you must give birth within you to whatever you teach them. Therefore advancement of the individual and advancement of the masses are phenomena that depend upon each other reciprocally. You are for them and they are for you.[110726]From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 5

Question: Do you recommend women organizing a special preparation before the convention in St. Petersburg?

Answer: Of course, the women still support the men externally; this work must continue. At the same time, I recommend women organizing a qualitatively new preparation in their environment.

First of all, before the convention, they can prepare together with the men, or without them at their discretion. The essence of preparation does not change because of this, the intention is still the same.

In his time, when Rabash wrote articles about the group, I gave them to the women’s group. Thus, the women discussed and seriously worked through the same material.

Further with regard to Israel, during the convention, the men’s group will gather in our new home and the women will meet at the local centers. So they need to think about how to—all together as a group, as a whole, no matter how many are at a particular center—reveal between themselves the spiritual integration with other groups and with the convention in St. Petersburg.

Question: Do I have to prepare for the convention in St. Petersburg so that I arrive there already with the right idea of the next degree in which I am connected with everyone?

Answer: No, I have nothing to take with me. Preparation is the process of building of the next degree, not it itself. It does not exist yet and I build it as if I prepare food to serve it on a festive table. I form the state of unity in which we will reveal the upper force together, between us.

If at “night,” in detachment from spirituality, we had not prepared the vessels of the “midnight” interaction (Zivug) of the parental Partzufim Aba ve-Ima, we would not have come to the “morning” state. In spirituality, I build everything myself because my reality, my states, the change of night and day, are determined by my current perception.

In fact, I am in the world of Infinity but the “curtain has been lowered” before me, and I am left in the dark, in contraction, so that I myself would open, take off this cover, according to my internal preparation.

Thus, preparation is a real job. We become familiar with the materials and songs of the convention in advance, with its program, with all its details to prepare for the action internally. At the convention, I am going to perform an action of unity and that is why I need to work on it constantly.

It always happens like this; when going to where I really would like to be, I’m kind of already there.

On the other hand, if I am just waiting for the convention, hoping that everything will happen by itself, then my expectations will be in vain. Nothing will happen without preparation, and in preparing, I have to understand that right now, every moment, I build and form a decisive action.

In spirituality, without these preparatory steps, without the complete process of “building,” there is only an empty place and as in fairy tales, the goal moves away from me no matter how much I run after it. This is the fate of those who “wait” as opposed to those who can build their own future and come to it.

The concept of the “Creator” (Boreh) means “Come and see” (bo-reh in Hebrew). I have to correct my vessels, desires; this is the only way. Thus, preparation is the correction of the vessels in the dark, “before the dawn.” Otherwise I will stay in the dark.

Moreover, the feeling of the “evening,” the gathering of darkness, is possible only after the correct “afternoon” work, when light and shadow are beginning to mix, and it is more difficult to distinguish them because a new desire is revealed in me. And it is revealed because during the “day” I have prepared myself for the “night.” Thus, this sequence of days and nights continues.

We have to treat preparation in the most attentive manner. Moments, devoid of any use, are stretched into hours, days, and months, which we do not use properly. I know this for myself: Only later you discover how much you have missed… So, now, we must not miss our chance and achieve the desired.[110879]From the Talk About the Preparation for the Convention in St. Petersburg 6/26/13

In our work, preparation is extremely important. It determines the outcome. It does not matter what you study or how much you know. The main thing is to prepare oneself, that is, to change one’s vessel, the desire, so as to feel the upper world instead of this world.

Nothing changes but yourself, and then you find out that the upper world is here, that it has always been here. Do you want paradise, here you go. Do you want hell, here you go. Take what you want, it all depends on your vessel.

It’s as if there is a “control” before you which you can rotate in either direction and it changes your world from one extreme to another, from one end of the scale to the other. You seemingly scroll a sequence of images in your computer.

The two current conventions, Krasnoyarsk and St. Petersburg, mark the beginning of a new stage. From now on, we start practical preparation for unification on a new degree.

If any of our circles around the world do not participate in the process, this will throw them aside and we cannot afford this. Of course, we do not “attack” anyone, do not impose any uncompromising requirements; however, we need to understand that we need to unite in the near future. All our studies, our entire path, the entire correction, is directed towards unity. And we should gradually, say in six months, bring everyone to this state.

Currently, we are becoming involved in a full-scale preparation before the convention in St. Petersburg. It should be the result of joint preparation, which we have not had as yet. We need to feel it “first-hand,” to feel it with “every fiber of the soul.” Our entire life, the whole world, the current reality, is a preparation to the final correction. It’s said that he who did not labor, did not prepare himself for the Sabbath in advance, what is he going to eat on the Sabbath? In essence, the entire period of six thousand years is preparation, meaning the addition of vessels, desires, which we first cleanse from egoism and then correct for receiving in order to bestow.

I address everyone: Now we apply more efforts in preparation for the convention and have to become familiar with what awaits us there in advance. The convention theme, its exact schedule, songs and events, all of this relates to preparation. Our groups around the world have to know what will take place in St. Petersburg during the three days.

Then, they will be able to plan their time in advance and organize so as to not sit in front of the screen in anticipation of something new. It’s bad if new things for us are formal, “technical” elements. We need no external surprises, but only internal ones. That’s why the more we become familiar with the external elements, the better it will be.

We need to translate the songs and slogans of the convention into the major languages. Everyone should know in advance the organizational details, program, plan of the premises, themes for the gathering of friends, every detail. This will be the “infrastructure” of the preparation process.

We have to build intentions above it, to read certain materials, listen to special music, etc. We need no surprises. If a person likes something, he can listen to it with pleasure a hundred times and not even reject the one hundred and first time. It’s the repetition that forms the vessel. If it brings no pleasure the first time, it will come when there are already the Reshimot that are filled. It’s said, “I will eat what I have stored in advance.” A breakthrough success in the crucial moment is possible only due to careful preparation.

So far, we have taken a tiny benefit from our meetings because we did not prepare ourselves as needed. This time, if the preparation is right, you will feel how effective the convention can be. Getting ready, we are building our collective vessel and our efforts in this are the basis of future unity.

Conversely, having arrived at the convention without preparation, I say hello, wave to the friends, and will remain alone among the “external noise.” Without prior preparation I will not be able to feel myself integrated in the two thousand people and through them in the other two million. That’s why there is just one risk, that instead of preparation you “plunge” into anticipation. These are two diametrically opposite things.

We are talking about a key psychological moment. I am not counting on any circumstances, I do not tell myself, “There will be a day, there will be food.” No, I myself prepare the food for this day; otherwise, I will be hungry because then it will be too late. I know exactly what to expect, what I will need in relation to details, in all subtleties. I work for six days and then the Sabbath comes.

If our conversations “motivate” you only to sit and wait for something, then at the convention our “table” will be empty. So, I do not wait for anything, do not hope for anything, but prepare all the necessary things. And then I am confident of success.[110767]From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/25/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Question: We already know that thought has tremendous power. The power of collaborative mental support has been documented in scientific research. At the convention we are all in one thought aimed at the common goal. Are our efforts registered somewhere or do they just “dissolve into thin air”?

Answer: First of all, all our deeds—good and bad, right and wrong, true and false—are “registered.”

In general, as we know, the created being goes through three states:

In the first state, Malchut of the World of Infinity is before contraction.

The second condition is the entire process through which the following things happen to us: the descent of the world, breaking, development in this world, and ascent back.

In the end, we come to the third state , to the same Malchut of Infinity but that is completely corrected and is 620 times greater than its first state.

Thus, the descent from the top downwards and the reverse ascent is considered a single state. And this is the second state, the preparation to the third and final one: the end of correction. However, we attain the end of correction in each individual action as small parts of the general system gradually joining into one large “integral.” In fact, this “integral” is a qualitatively new sum of small “sectors.”

A question arises: How can we make each step in order to achieve the correct result in every part? Answer: Only by preparation because the main thing for us is the work towards the final correction, collective and individual.

So, now we have to work on the preparation. Less than three weeks are left before the convention in St. Petersburg and we must prepare properly.

No matter with which group I will be attending this convention—I am preparing in such a way as to disconnect from the whole world, from all outside influences: no radio or television, no books, no external activities. For three days, my friends and I are going into the “deep underground,” no matter where we are physically. I form a “bubble” for myself with my friends, hide in it from all the interferences of the world, and open myself to the influence of the convention.

And all this must be organized in advance by connecting to the group in which I will spend these three days or with those who will come to St. Petersburg. I have to prepare myself for detachment from the world; I have to be ready to connect with the group, dissolve in it, and surrender myself like a fetus in the mother’s womb. If, suppose, my friends and I are at a mirror convention, then we receive nourishment, the Light of life, from St Petersburg like through the umbilical cord.

In short, getting ready for the convention, I have to create the same conditions like the embryo has in the womb. I not only have to see this picture in front of me, but feel it. And it affects my entire spiritual path, my chance to achieve something in life.

The friends who are coming to the convention must understand: They are in the place that needs to be isolated from any external influences. Let the city run its own life, let the atmosphere radiate its “emanations” on everyone; this is where we need to work.

This convention can become unique and can gain unprecedented power if we just prepare for it properly, if we isolate ourselves from the surrounding impulses that are literally “in the air,” if we detach ourselves externally and internally. I hope that all the participants will clean themselves of external influences and will arrive already prepared so everyone becomes the “womb” for each and every “embryo” in the collective body, and that everyone wants to receive nourishment from the teacher, and through him from the upper root. In the end, everyone needs to form this state according only to his conditions.

Here is the preparation: I imagine the participants, myself, imagine how I will get nourishment in detachment from everything external, adhering to the mother’s body, nullifying myself before it. I have to constantly think about it, live it to such an extent that it becomes my habitual state. Then, having arrived at the convention, I will automatically flow in the right course.

And besides that, we have to make the organizers understand what is required of them. We do not care about beautiful banners on the walls and other decorations. We evaluate the organization only by its ability to make us the “womb,” a group in the full sense of the word. Thus, the true organizer is not the one who manages the activities but the one who organizes this spiritual “isolation,” this spiritual world, in which we live for three days.

The convention in St. Petersburg costs us huge efforts and money. So, how can we let it take its own course?! We could spend all those millions of dollars on dissemination. Still, it is worth it providing that we will understand that everything is determined by preparation. Otherwise, it is not worthwhile to fly to St. Petersburg even for free.

That is why I warn you: Now we are required prepare correctly. All our friends regardless of where they will organize this convention must think about this, must get together, unite, and discuss the preparation, not relying on anyone. We all decide how to create the right spirit, how to form the “womb” in which we will attain true spiritual realization. This is extremely important.

Otherwise, in spite of all the invested efforts, we will come back as after a “festival,” a “party,” but not a spiritual action, with an even greater feeling of emptiness.

It is no coincidence that I in advance talked about the success of the convention in Krasnoyarsk; the friends prepared for it for six months, while in a great inner tension. They invested themselves fully and also financially. The tent itself, in which the event took place, cost them two million rubles. In addition, they were collecting money to bring people from remote places. Many were on the train for a few days or even a week; they had to make their way along the local roads. And some felt an impulse during the convention and arrived here for a day and half. This is real investment…

So, no preparation, no convention. If a person has not prepared himself, I would return the ticket if I were him. Arriving unprepared causes your friends’ descent and it will hit you like a boomerang and much stronger than it hits them. In this case, you should not be there. It is said, “Keeping sinners apart is good for them and good for the world.”

As for the mirror convention in our new Israeli center: If it is just a little get-together to decide on a place, organize duties there, and watch what happens on the screens, it will be a loss—wasted efforts.

Everyone must bring the right intention to the convention according to his degree. This intention is accumulated “by pennies” for the decisive day. If you do not do this, I recommend you do nothing: It is better to sit at home and watch TV. You will not hit the target without efforts, without intention; on the contrary, you will steal power from the friends, instead of adding strength to them.

It’s not about external signs; a desire should burn within you so that now we all together raise MAN, a request for our correction. What is it? We want the Light that will unite us to come. In our unity, we want to reveal the upper force and feel how we bring it joy. A person aims at the group and from the group at the Creator. This is “Israel” (ישראל), which means: “straight to the Creator” (Yashar-El – ישר – אל).

We need the same convention as in Krasnoyarsk only with a new Aviut, i.e. a new depth of desire. Take the example of Krasnoyarsk and create the same in St. Petersburg. These two conventions are like one. In the language of Kabbalah, we can call them “two heads of the Partzuf:” RoshdeHitlabshut and Rosh de Aviut. Accordingly, the addition that we have to feel is the addition of the Light that Reforms. In Krasnoyarsk, it was a pure, “transparent” desire, aimed upward, relatively ready for anything, and in St. Petersburg there will be the “egoism of a big city” the thickness of desire. But we must not wallow in it but raise ourselves to the state that was in Krasnoyarsk. Throughout the convention, we need to “hold ourselves in the air,” above egoism, above reason. And this is what we should prepare for.

We will have to work not in the thickness itself; this is impossible and not necessary. Our task is to rise more and more and now during the time of preparation. Preparation is a potential action: I have not yet come to its realization but already act to the best of my abilities.

For example, preparing to become an engineer, I study, work on projects, go through on-the-job training, and only then acquire the profession.

Thus, in the period of preparation I carry out the same tasks that I will face later, but I perform them in special pre-conditions. Preparation is already an action, not a fantasy, not dreams about a bright future. Already now I keep in touch with the friends try to connect with them. We constantly discuss the upcoming event and its realization—current and future.

Imagine that you are organizing this convention for a few thousand people. You are in charge; everything depends on you, rather on your group of ten that must take care of the most important thing—uniting the hearts. And now, act, as one man with one heart.[110747]From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

In the News (from inoSMI): “The EU labor market is divided, and there is a significant imbalance between the EU member states. Thousands of German employers seek personnel to fill vacant jobs, while thousands of workers in Spain cannot find work. While the level of unemployment is record high, there are up to five million job vacancies.”

My Comment:This points out to the lack of union in the EU, to complete absence of connection and coordination. This is the main reason for the European crisis.[110760]

In his time, Baal HaSulam wrote articles explaining the essence of the confrontation between two ideologies: capitalism and socialism. He also traveled to Poland where the vigorous activity of the labor movement took place. For this, the authorities wanted to put him in jail in Palestine and he was nearly arrested in Europe as a communist. He received slander and innuendo in reply. He was forced to move from Jerusalem to Tel-Aviv. However, there was no alternative. He had to apply all his strength to publish his works.

By and large, the time has not changed since then. On the contrary, there were more clever people then who understood the presentation and descriptions of Baal HaSulam. Today, we are witnessing the decline of generations, growing stupidity, and greed. That is what stands today at the foundation.

We must understand that the situation we are in now is the same as it was then. We think that it is much better, but let’s be serious and, if possible, objective researchers. Human nature has not changed. People have become more stubborn, more primitive, and more narrow-minded. Computers, gadgets, and the media deceive us. The flow of news about the end of the familiar world, natural disasters, and the destructive potential of the global crisis is not producing an impact on them.

Our task is to reach out to them, to tell them the truth about the current state of affairs, but while we try to do that, people just are unable to understand what is happening. I don’t blame them for anything, and if my words sound negative, of course it is not their fault. They cannot hear our message.

We cannot do without the “burdening of the heart” here, with what is actually happening. On the other hand, we must continue our work in spite of them, just as Moses worked before Pharaoh.

Who is “Pharaoh” in fact? These are “glorious Jews” in whom the evil inclination is constantly growing, who become more rebellious and spit in Moses’ face, stating that they don’t want to go with him. They do not care about anything: Thank God, everything is fine, the world is full of delights.

That is the Pharaoh who does not let the people of Israel out of bondage, the representative of the evil inclination from the midst of Israel, and we must work against him to the best of our power.

The Torah gives us an example, demonstrating that this is possible. So, we must try to act accordingly. Whether we will succeed or not is not our business. If it works, then this is not our business either. We just have a job that we need to do.

Before us, there is a society wishing only to enjoy life. We must understand Pharaoh is manifested in people in this way. God help us so that we reveal him, so that we have forces to oppose him successfully. And they are not to blame. It is no accident that when speaking about the Egyptian exile the Torah mainly talks about Moses, not the people of Israel. Moses, Aaron, and the Creator are before Pharaoh. This is the story of what is happening. The main thing here is to work against general egoism.

Question: What do we want? Is it to add spirit to the masses or to find inclusions of spirit among the masses?

Answer: The masses have no spirit, only indifference. We are looking just for the ability to understand within them against the backdrop of history and the troubles that are manifested today, to understand the developmental trend and shake them up a bit before troubles come. This will be acceleration.[110537]From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/19/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Question: I want to understand what the secret of the Kazakhstan Group is. They always radiate joy and they always impress me. I spoke to one of the women from that group and she told me: “I have a strong husband!” In other words she has no doubt that he will not do anything wrong or may get off track, it simply amazes me! Could it be that the women are the secret?

Answer: Unfortunately, I don’t know these women, but apparently they are right. When a woman speaks about her husband that way it gives him great support! The main thing for men, even for the toughest macho man, is a woman’s support. He needs it very much. When a woman speaks this way about her husband, he cannot allow himself to be weak. He will do everything in his power to justify her opinion so as not to seem lesser in her eyes.

A clever woman knows that, uses that, and benefits from that. A woman can help her husband that way much more than the whole group since she is part of her husband. If she supports him, his success is guaranteed.

So women, take into account that this special mission is in your hands. The female part and the male part are internally connected to one another by natural ties that we don’t know about. They are transferred by inner reflection from us to you and vice versa.

Your influence on us is great and you can determine the men’s success. I really count on you. Don’t let us down![110662]From the Convention In Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 5